What Is the Story About?
ALT Balaji and MX Player’s collab show ‘Cartel‘ is set in the backdrop of the Mumbai crime scene. Five gangster families have settled for a fragile peace in Mumbai at the behest of Rani Maai (Supriya Pathak) the matriarch of the Angre family, the first family of the city’s crime scenario. Each family owns a juicy piece of the crime pie – Dharavi is with Anna (Kannan Arunachalam); Mahim is with Khan (Anil George); the lucrative cab industry is controlled by Gajraj (Shubhrajyoti Barat); Chairman (Ashwath Bhatt) controls the film and cricket-betting industries.
But the pride of Mumbai, Goregaon’s Aarey, is the sole fiefdom of the Angres, controlled with an iron hand by Maai, along with her nephews Madhukar (Jitendra Joshi) and Arjun (Tanuj Virwani), and son Abhay (Rithvik Dhanjani). The wafer-thin peace is shattered when Maai is attacked and left for dead by unknown assailants. And then begins the dance of revenge and retribution, as bodies pile up by the dozen.
Performances?
Tanuj Virwani is the toast of the show. Easily the best of the lot, he elevates the show considerably with his assured and measured performance. It is a memorable performance from the actor—memorable enough to warrant eager viewers returning for the inevitable second season of the show. Jitendra Joshi has delivered an eminently enjoyable performance as the hot-headed but soft at heart, Madhu. He is a riot in the comic scenes and a delight to watch, in the grim ones. Girija Oak as his wife Rama is good. Supriya Pathak emanates just the precise amount of menace to make Maai a remarkable character. She’s terrific as a tough nut who’s equal parts intimidating and loving.
Rithvik Dhanjani is loud and over-the-top in the initial episodes, but soon settles into his character, delivering the goods effectively. Samir Soni is suitably evil as the manipulative Neville Dorabji. Ashwath Bhatt’s Chairman is a scene-stealing performance and character. Divya Agarwal’s ruthless assassin turn is arresting. Monica Dogra fails to make much of an impact as sexy siren, Maya. Mayur More is miscast as budding gangster, Chiru. Amey Wagh is good as the opportunistic Dhaval. The rest of the sizeable ensemble cast lends admirable support.
Analysis
Cartel is the spiritual twin of the blockbuster HBO show, Game Of Thrones. Only here, the throne is the right to control the plum real estate potential of Aarey, rather than King’s Landing. It may not be apparent outright, but if you stick around until the end of the 14-part series, you’ll agree that Cartel is heavily inspired by GoT, right down to the ‘Red Wedding’, and a closing scene that is reminiscent of Arya Stark’s constant recounting of the names of the people she has to annihilate.
Of course, the setting is different, the situations are far from similar, and so are the characters. Cartel is imbued with Indian, and more specifically, Mumbai sensibilities. The show is best described as a cross between GoT and every underworld content ever—a sequence picked up from here, a trope picked up from there—stitched together deftly to create the mish-mash called Cartel.
The strategy succeeds in throwing up a show that is engaging and entertaining. But it also results in the narrative having way too many subplots—most of them dispensable. A bumbling politician; an environmental activist who gives in to the lure of power and money; a drug-addled youngster manipulated into avenging his long-dead father; his helpless sister; a cricketer who’s blackmailed into throwing matches; a killer-for-hire who’s a master of disguise—these are just several of the subplots that are crammed into the fourteen, 45-50 minute episodes. Believe us when we tell you that there are tons more. It seems as if the writers went berserk enough to pick up every crime drama trope ever depicted on screen, and dump all of it into the screenplay of Cartel.
To its credit, the writers Sambit Mishra and Monish K. Talpade have paced the narrative well, never allowing it to dwell on a particular subplot for too long. Hence, despite the tropes and the predictable plot, Cartel is entertaining, and races ahead at break-neck speed, never letting the viewer get bored with the proceedings. Well-etched characters that are bold and impudent add to the fun.
Music and Other Departments?
Bharatt-Saurabh’s score is lively, upbeat and kind of cheeky. It sets up the sequences well, and perfectly complements the boldness and brashness of the primary characters of the show. Rajiv Singh and Sudip Sengupta’s camerawork is notably impressive. The use of light and darkness adds layers to the narrative. Prashant Panda’s editing is flawless.
Highlights?
Performances, especially the lead troika of Tanuj Virwani, Jitendra Joshi and Supriya Pathak.
Well-etched characters
Pacy narrative
Drawbacks?
Predictable and stuffed with every crime drama trope known to man
Way too many subplots
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, it is an entertaining ‘popcorn’ watch
Cartel Review by Binged Bureau
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